This educational wallsheet illustrates Newton's Third Law of Motion. The accompanying activity is an experiment in which students create a balloon and straw rocket. Students must figure out how to shoot the balloon from the back of the classroom and...(View More) hit the blackboard in the front of the room using a fishing line as a track for the balloon to follow. The activity provides teachers with background information, pre-activity reading, pre-activity discussion questions, an assessment, and post-activity discussions that tie the classroom activity back to the Swift satellite. This wallsheet is the third of four posters on Newton's Laws and a copy is available on this website.(View Less)

This lesson plan will provide a concrete way for students to understand the concept of distance in space equals distance in time. This is done using information gathered from a timeline activity in Lesson 1: Earth, the Universe, and Culture....(View More) Students experiment with how distances are measured in space and create timelines to demonstrate the concept distance in space equals distance in time. This lesson is part of the "Swift: Eyes Through Time" collection that is available on the Teacher's Domain website.(View Less)

This activity is designed to help building student understanding of how scientific theories can change over time. Science theories change in the face of new evidence. However, when new explanatory frameworks, or theories, are proposed to explain...(View More) scientific phenomena, there is often a lengthy period during which groups of scientists use different competing theories to explain the same phenomena. During the activity, students are introduced to the geocentric and heliocentric models, students compare the two models, and then observe the time it took to change the theory underpinning the heliocentric model. This activity is part of the "Swift: Eyes through Time" collection that is available on the Teacher's Domain website.(View Less)

In this activity, students will learn how technology can help scientists solve a problem. One of the challenges scientists face with any spacecraft is attitude control. Students will be introduced to the problem of attitude control in space through...(View More) an experiment using angular momentum, and experience two different ways scientists address this problem. Students begin by discussing the technology(ies) that powers satellites and enable(s) them to move through space. Students then engage in an angular momentum experiment. Estimated cost of this activity does not include the cost of the bicycle wheel for the angular momentum experiment. This activity is one of several in the Swift: Eyes through Time collection available on the Teachers' Domain website.(View Less)

In this activity, students research scientific discoveries that happened by accident in the past, and learn how gamma-rays were discovered by 20th century scientists. In the process, students develop an understanding that science theories change in...(View More) the face of new evidence. This acitivity is part of the "Swift: Eyes Through Time" collection that is available on the Teacher's Domain website.(View Less)

This lesson examines the different roles scientists play in discoveries. Students will research various satellites and their uses. In addition, they will explore the different careers associated with the development of satellites, as well as, the...(View More) technology used to communicate the scientific discoveries from those satellites. This is one of several activities available in the Swift: Eyes through Time collection on the Teachers' Domain website.(View Less)

This lesson will help students understand the cultural nature of scientific research. Students explore famous scientists, their theories, places of origin, and their culture. They document scientific viewpoints of famous scientists throughout...(View More) history and discuss geographical region, culture, gender, and other factors effecting scientific theories and discoveries. This activity helps students understand the cultural nature of scientific research and how people interpret science in different ways based on their social environments. This activity is one of several in the Swift: Eyes through Time collection available on the Teachers' Domain website.(View Less)

The Global Telescope Network (GTN) is an informal association of scientists, students, individuals and observatories interested in supporting the NASA Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST), Swift, and XMM-Newton missions by obtaining and...(View More) reducing ground-based observations for objects related to the primary science goals for these missions. The GTN website involves students, teachers, and amateur astronomers in cutting-edge astronomical research; contains activities and instructional materials for a range of levels and interests; and provides mentoring in research practices, telescope use, data analysis and educational resources for both partners (those with their own telescopes) and associates (those who wish to use a network telescope).(View Less)

The Gamma-ray Burst Skymap website automatically updates for each gamma-ray burst as it occurs, whether detected by Swift or other orbiting satellites. For each burst, the location on the sky, star map, constellation and detecting mission are...(View More) generated automatically. It is then quickly updated by hand to include a written description of the burst properties and scientific significance, as observations continue. Note: In order to view the content of the website, users need to download and install Silverlight on their computers.(View Less)